When can your baby hear you in the womb?

One of the loveliest things about pregnancy is the idea that your baby is already getting to know you — and one of the first ways they do is through sound.

When does hearing develop?

A baby's hearing develops gradually. The structures of the ear begin forming early, but it's from around 18 weeks that a baby may start to detect sound, and by roughly 24 to 25 weeks the hearing system is much more developed and they respond to noise more consistently. In the final months, many parents notice their baby move or settle in response to a loud sound or a familiar voice.

So there's no single switch that flips. Think of it as your baby tuning in, a little more clearly, as the weeks go on.

Why your voice matters most

Of all the sounds around them, your baby hears your voice most clearly. That's because it doesn't only travel through the air and the wall of the womb — it also carries through your own body, through bone and tissue. By the time your baby is born, they already recognise the rhythm and tone of your voice, which is part of why a newborn is so often soothed by it.

They aren't following words or meaning. They're learning the music of you — the cadence, the warmth, the rise and fall.

What it sounds like in there

Sound reaches your baby muffled, a bit like hearing voices through a wall in another room. Higher, clearer sounds soften; lower sounds and rhythms carry through better. It's gentle and indistinct — which is exactly why a calm, steady voice is what your baby responds to most.

An easy way to give them plenty of it

You don't need to do anything special. Talking, singing, and reading aloud are all simple ways to give your baby lots of your voice in the weeks before they're here — and reading aloud has the happy side effect of starting the bedtime ritual early. For more on that, see our guide to reading to your baby in the womb.

If you'd like a gentle, ready-made way to do it, Dreamtime can write soft, soothing pieces made to be read aloud to your bump — and once your baby arrives, the stories grow with them.